Strawberry in the Sky Redux
by Mazongian
Summary: Ichigo did the impossible. The unbreakable broken, the immortal dead. Yet, in doing so, he put a target on his back. Now, it is time for hiding and recovery by hiding in plain sight


**So..uh...hey guys...**

 **How have ya been?**

 **Okay, look, I know it's been a long ass time since I last posted, well, anything, but I had the urge to write recently. We'll see how long it'll last, eh?**

 **Anyways, so, looking back, I dislike most of my stories. Lots of edgy, weak stories that I am less than proud of. Especially Strawberry in the Sky. Eugh.**

 **So, I am remaking it. I feel like I can have a more fun plotline in this story, so that's what I will do. I hope you guys enjoy.**

* * *

"Mugetsu."

One word came before a storm of oppressive black energy. One simple, insignificant word that failed to describe the devastation it caused, wrecking a whole mountain range in one go. It was as if someone had thrown a black veil that absorbed all color over the land, and when removed, left naught but lengthy scar in the ground.

At the ground zero of this attack were two men: Ichigo Kurosaki and Sosuke Aizen.

"It's over now, Aizen." Ichigo stated as he stood tall over Aizen, knowing that his foe was still conscious, still alive.

"And what makes you say that!?" The aberration known as Aizen, mutated heavily from an average man to an amalgamation of Shinigami and Hollow, spat out. "As long as I have the Hogyoku, I will never stay down!" He was thus incensed when Ichigo began to chuckle lowly. "What? Why are you laughing?"

"I am laughing because of this." Ichigo said as the black bandages that covered his face began to crack and flake off. He lifted his hand up for Aizen to see clearly that the Hogyoku was in the teen's grasp. "Your tool has found a new master, it seems."

"You lie!" The transcendent spat. "I will prove it too!" And with the effort clearly showing on his face, he tried to recall it back to himself, yet the orb remained in Ichigo's hand. "Get back here, you damnable orb!" Aizen spat venomously to no avail.

"Like I said, it found a new master. Me." Ichigo said whilst hold what he held up, looking at the sky through it. "And from what I remember hearing, it grants the desires in the hearts of those in control of it. I wonder..." He trailed off, pausing to look down at Aizen with one eye. "What would happen if I wished it to destroy itself."

Aizen's face contorted from outrage to abject terror at the thought. "You wouldn't."

"I would. And I do desire that."

The Hogyoku flashed once, as if in recognition of his wish, then crumbled after a moment more, the once indestructible tool now nothing but dust in his palm.

"What have you done? What have you done!?" Aizen began to thrash about as he witnessed its destruction, his back arching as he rolls onto it. His protests swiftly changed to strangled noises of pain as he himself started to turn to dust, beginning from his feet.

"I ended something that should never have begun." Ichigo said simply as the rest of Saigo no Getsuga Tensho broke off of him, signaling the end of his tenure as a shinigami. The loss of energy brought Ichigo to his knees as Kisuke approached them.

"Come to gloat on your win, Kisuke?" Aizen gasped out, writhing in agony as dissolving of his body reached his knees. "Are you happy that the world will remain as it was, underneath that _thing_?"

"No Aizen, I haven't come to gloat." The scientist said, looking and sounding somber. "And since you have seen him, the Spirit King, you yourself should understand his purpose as a linchpin that keeps the balance of all worlds in place. Why try to ruin that stability?"

At this point, Ichigo had picked himself up, standing back on two feet as Aizen's disintegration reached his abdomen. "That's not how a winner should talk Kisuke. They should think of how the future should be, not how it is currently." There was no passion in his voice anymore, lacking the strength to do more then talk lightly. He shook his head, his body reaching its limit as his arms now begin to fade away. "But you have proven yourself correct through Ichigo. The Spirit King lives, the world turns, and it remains stagnant." His last words were followed by the rest of him crumbling and drifting off in the wind.

Kisuke turned to Ichigo as the boy sat down on a nearby rock. "Why the long face? You did what had to be done and won in a way no one could have conceived."

"You never considered just wishing the thing to destroy itself?" Ichigo snarked at his ally, chuckling. "And I don't know myself, in all honesty." With a deep sigh, Ichigo looked up at the sky, disconcerted. "It's just...Why did the Hogyoku swap to me? I mean, Aizen is the one who had awoke it and he was the one who used it most. Yet, it came to me, and so easily."

He changed his position to look at Kisuke in the man's eyes. "And when I clashed blades with him as an equal, I could only feel a sense of isolationism from him, as if he was alone his whole life due to his strength. It makes me wonder if he had accepted that he would remain alone and all but allowed me to receive the Hogyoku because of that weakness."

Kisuke met his theory with silence, a void that was filled with the concerned sounds of Ichigo's friends that he had fought hard with to reach the point they were at. Yet, as he stood up to greet them, Ichigo instead met the ground as intense pain wracked his body, searing with such heat that he couldn't get any noise to leave him. As his vision faded, Ichigo's last sight before losing consciousness was his friends rushing to his side with fear in their eyes.

* * *

"You know why they called you here, don't you, Kisuke?" Yoruichi asked the man as they approached the First Division's captain meeting room. "And it has something to do with why you asked me to come, doesn't it?"

"As always, you see right through me old friend." The scientist laughed while drawing out his fan, covering his face. "I just needed you to do something for our Strawberry while we were here."

"And what, prey tell, do you want me to do that you can't do yourself?" She asked, rolling her eyes.

"Nothing much. I just need you to steal an asauchi." He stated in a carefree tone, still hiding his face behind the fan.

"Oh, just that huh?" She said in an agreeable tone. This was immediately followed up with a solid blow to the back of his head as she angrily whispered in his ear. "What the hell do you need me to do something that stupid for, huh? You trying to get us banished again!?"

Nursing the back of his head, Kisuke turned to his friend, fan still raised but with a look that had a strength that would rival steel. "Why else but for Ichigo? If this meeting goes the way I expect it to, we are going to have to stabilize him quickly so we can hide him."

"...What do you mean." She asked, her anger melting into a guarded tone.

"I fear that Central 46 might have come to a conclusion that is driven by fear. The fear of someone who broke something that was indestructible and killed someone who shouldn't have been able to die." He said, steel lining his voice. "Doesn't matter that he helped them save everyone, they fear that, should he every gain his power back, he could be a terrible threat to the Seireitei. And if my fears are correct, then this meeting will be Yamamoto telling everyone what will have to be done to the boy."

Yoruichi grit her teeth and slammed her arm into a nearby wall, reducing the impact spot to dust and sending a spiderweb of cracks running through a larger area around the fist-sized crater. "Those cowards, they can't do that!"

"They can, and they most likely will." Kisuke countered, but continued before she snapped at him. "However, I plan to not only fix his power situation, but also hide him from them. That is why I need the asauchi, Yoruichi."

"Understood." A single word reply, spoken with a fury that bordered on pure wrath, was all he got before she sped off to get what he needed.

With a sigh, Kisuke removed his hat and continued the remainder of the trip to the meeting room in silence, thoughts speeding through his mind as he formulated his plan to save the boy who saved them all."

* * *

"Thank you for joining us, Urahara." A gravely voice rumbled out as Kisuke entered the meeting hall. The remaining captains from each division were lined up, half on each side of the hall leading up to where Genryusai Yamamoto took his seat. "Now, with all parties accounted for, we shall begin this meeting." Opening one eye to a crack, Yamamoto swept his eye to each captain and Kisuke before continuing. "The subject for today is on Ichigo Kurosaki, the boy who defeated Aizen."

At this, muttering immediately broke out between the captains and a weight settled in Kisuke's stomach, though he didn't show it. With a thump of his cane, the old man brought silence to the room once more. "After the dust had settled from the battles in Karakura Town, Central 46 had taken to discuss what should be done about the young man. Considering how quickly he gained power, rising from someone who could barely be considered an acceptable graduate in terms of power to being able to take on an enemy that not even we, the captains, couldn't handle while ravaging the landscape, not to mention the fact that he holds no official affiliation to us, they felt only one option was possible. However, before their sentencing has passed, I wish for Urahara to tell us the condition of young Kurosaki."

Clearing his throat, Kisuke quickly settles on the one option he felt could save his one-time student. "At this point of time, Ichigo has fallen into a coma after his use of the technique used to beat Aizen." A startled gasp came from several of the captain, and even Kenpachi showed mild discomfort from the news. After pausing to allow them their reactions, Kisuke proceeds with a lie he told with all the skill he had in the art. "I am afraid it gets worse. It appears that he may never wake up from it. His vitals are steady, but there is only the bare minimum amount of brain activity, just enough for him to stay alive. Not even Orihime's Soten Kisshun was able to resuscitate him."

He struggled to not breathe a sigh of relief when all parties bought what he said, including the head captain. Several of the older captains swore lightly under their breath, cursing the fate that they had been told befell upon Ichigo, while some younger captains like Byakuya and Toshiro showed their remorse on their faces, clear as day.

"I see." Yamamoto stated gravely, before releasing a sigh of his own. "That is unfortunate. Central 46 has declared him to be a threat to the general safety and welfare of Soul Society, and as such, they requested his immediate execution." The orders caused everyone to react in a stunned silence, followed immediately but almost universal shouts of outrage, with only Sui-Feng and Mayuri standing in silence. A quick flare of reiatsu brought about silence once more from all captains before the old man continued. "In light of Kisuke's report, however, I deem that the state he is in is suitable enough to fulfill what the Central decreed. It is the only solace that we may give to the boy who solved our problem with us." He finished in a solemn tone, bowing his head, as did the other captains.

 _'Good, I bought us the time to save him.'_ Kisuke thought to himself, giving no visible emotion. _'I hope Yoruichi had enough time to snag what we need. Now, to call in a few favors.'_ "If that is all, Head Captain, I will see myself out. Thank you for this small mercy." At this, he gave a low bow before showing himself out, leaving for the senkaimon gate.

* * *

"Good, good, you got one." Kisuke said as he ran his hand over the flat side of the unused zanpakutou.

"Was there any doubt I could?" Yoruichi snorted back before having a saucer of sake.

"No, no, of course not." He replied in an effort to placate her.

"So now what are we going to do?" Yoruichi asked, tilting her head. "I know that an asauchi isn't going to be enough to save Ichigo or his powers."

"Now, we call in a favor." Kisuke slipped back into his shopkeeper gigai before rummaging Ichigo's pockets in search of his phone. "Ah, there it is." He exclaims while drawing it out.

It only takes him a moment to figure out Ichigo's password and enter his contacts list. "Ah, good. He does have her number still."

Foot tapping in irritation, Yoruichi snaps at her friend. "Who's number? Who are we calling?"

"Someone who might as well be family to Ichigo." Was his cryptic reply, further agitating her. Before she could retaliate, the phone stopped ringing when the woman on the other end picked up.

"Ichigo? What's going on Ichigo? It odd for you to call in the middle of the night." The voice one the other end was a woman's, and it held a strong edge to it. Not unfriendly in the slightest, but it conveyed that she was certainly someone who accepted no quarter.

"Ah yes, this is-" Kisuke began, but was swiftly cut off.

"Who are you and what have you done to Ichigo." The voice went from strong to deadly, almost as if it were a blade itself, and it certainly promised pain.

"Ahaha," Kisuke laughed tentatively, feeling slight hesitation before continuing. "About that...I am calling on his behalf. He is currently in a spot of trouble, you see, and we-"

"What have you done to him." She interrupted again, and Kisuke could swear he felt some killing intent from the phone.

"Nothing, nothing at all!" He hurredly exclaimed. "In fact, I am trying to help him! I just need your help."

"...What do you need."

Sighing quietly while backing away from the phone, he leans back in to fill her in. "I need you and your genius friend to come to the Urahara Shoten in Karakura Town. Ichigo is having some issues and I need both of you here to help him recover."

The other end was silent, and remained that way for a worrying amount of time, before she replied. "Alright. But I swear to all that is holy and not, if there is so much as a hair out of place on him, you will not live to see another day." With that, she hung up on him.

With a weary sigh, he leaned back while setting the phone down. "Well, that could have gone better."

By this point, a couple tic marks had popped up on Yoruichi as she leaned forward, grabbing him by the folds of his kimono. "And it will go so much worse if you do not explain who that was!" She threatened him, grinning maniacally in his face.

"Ah, didn't you know? When Ichigo was little, he pretty much became family with Chifuyu Orimura."

* * *

"You called us here, made me call in a favor that could have been used in a different way, to tell us this...drivel?!" Chifuyu Orimura, the sole remaining member of the Orimura family and known to this day as Brunhilde, snarled at the shopkeep who called her and Tabane while slamming her fist into his table, making it creak eerily. "You are telling us stories of an afterlife and ghost warriors and expect us to believe this!?"

Beside her sat Tabane Shinonono, the genius who invented the Infinite Stratos units, uncharacteristically silent as she absorbed what was being said.

"I am being entirely honest with you right now, Miss Orimura, I promise you that." Kisuke tried to placate her, but only succeeded in incensing her.

"All I see right now is a shady shopkeeper trying to pass off an insane story as if to explain how Ichigo looks like he had aged months in the span of the few days since I last saw him!" Her tone didn't relent, and the glare she shot at him made Kisuke wish he could be anywhere else right now. Before she could continue to tear into him, her friend spoke up for the first time since arrival.

"Can you prove it." She asked, looking straight into his eyes, scanning for any deceit.

"Yes, if you will give me some trust to work with." Without a hint of hesitation, he met her gaze, showing nothing but seriousness.

"You can't possibly believe him!" Chifuyu shouted, turning to her friend.

"Anything is possible, Chifuyu." Tabane said simply. "We can't rule anything out without testing all possibilities. Besides, how else could he have grown like he had?" Biting her tongue, she knew she had to give it a shot, especially seeing as how Tabane of all people were being serious. "Of course, you do know that should your proof be insufficient, I will ruin all you have, right?"

Kisuke was stunned at how casually she dropped the threat before shaking his head. "I understand. If you would follow me, I have the perfect place to show you all you need to believe me." Waving at them to follow him, he moved to the back of the shop, straight into the trapdoor that housed his training area.

Already, both Chifuyu and Tabane could feel themselves believing him when they saw the impossibly vast expanse of land underneath the shop. Taking in the sights, they don't see Urahara blur out of sight, ending up directly behind both of the women, soul separation gloves in each hand. They only realize he's there when his hands are at their heads, shoving them out of their bodies.

Gasping in shock, both of them round on the man, prepared to kill him for tricking them when they spot their own bodies lying on the ground.

"What the hell..." Chifuyu breathes as she looks at her body on the ground, then at herself and the chain on her chest that connected her to her own body. Tabane was reacting more clinically, thinking for any form of hallucinogen that could cause this affect.

"I'm truly sorry about the surprise, ladies." Kisuke said, twirling his zanpakuto around after ditching his gigai. "I just don't think you would have let me remove your spirits if I asked first."

Gritting her teeth, Chifuyu almost snapped back at him when Tabane cut her off. "Okay, so I take it that this is the 'Chain of Fate' you were talking about?" She inquired, pointing at the chain that attached her to her body. Upon his affirmative nod, she struck a pose, cupping her own chin. "Then this is pretty effective proof in my opinion. I am immune to most all hallucinogens and tranquilizers, so it is unlikely that you spiked us somehow. Now, if you would, could you help return us to our bodies?"

"Ah, just slip into them as if you would clothing." He said, grabbing his own gigai. Standing it up, he showed them that just slipping into the body would be enough to restore them.

After a few minutes of them being reacquainted with their own bodies, Chifuyu walks over and decks Urahara, sending him flying back into and through one of the jutting stalagmites. "Next time, warn us asshole." She says before the three of them meet back upstairs, kneeling next to Ichigo's unconscious body.

"So, the people he helped now want him dead, huh." Chifuyu rhetorically asked as she reclined slightly.

"Yes." Kisuke replied to her, knowing she already knew but confirmed anyways.

"And you want us to help him restore himself back to how he used to be, right?" Tabane chimed in.

"Correct."

"How." Was the simple question Chifuyu asked, on board to helping the boy that had pretty much became a brother to her.

"Well, I figured that there was a way to combine our technologies." He said, looking at Tabane. Lifting up the asauchi for them to see, he is pleased that they actually notice it, their spiritual energies awakened after being forced out of their bodies.

"How will a sword help us?"

"Why, this is no ordinary sword, my good lady!" Kisuke announced dramatically, making the swordswoman grumble at him. "This is what is known as an asauchi, which is the basis for all shinigami powers, such as myself." Drawing his own blade, he showed them its base form, looking almost identical to the one he showed them moments before. "In time, it can change forms entirely, such as mine here!" And he released Benihime for them to see, showing the transformation.

"And you want to combine an IS core with the metal from that asauchi, don't you?" Tabane inquired, peering closer at the blade.

"Exactly!" Kisuke exclaimed. "In theory, the asauchi metal would take from Ichigo his Zanpakuto spirit-"

"And if I disable the personality matrix in the core, that spirit could take the place of the personality, and would, most likely, allow him to bypass the gender limitation by having an IS that can be used only by him!" Excited at the prospect, Tabane cut Kisuke off, and she began to pace while mulling over potential cores to use.

"Wait a minute! How would this stop Ichigo from losing his powers?" Chifuyu cut them off, seemingly finding a flaw in this grand plan.

"He would lose his powers from the loss of his spirit, which would take all his energy from him." Kisuke began, happy that he was dealing with people on his level of forethought and ingenuity. "However, it takes time, around thirty days, to fully lose one's spirit the way he did. If we can move that spirit from him to the core, where it could store most of its power, we could cycle the spiritual energy between Ichigo and the IS."

"It would, in theory, keep the spirit alive and allow Ichigo's body to remain used to spiritual energy, until such a point that he could produce his own energy." Tabane continued for him, picking up more energy from the thought process.

"And it could keep Ichigo from falling into a depression, because we all know he loves to keep those he cares about safe. Which he can, if he can pilot an IS." Kisuke finished off.

"And you want me to train Ichigo up to snuff to enter the Academy by the time he is sixteen." Chifuyu thought aloud.

"Exactly."

"Okay, all in favor of assisting this young man recover, spit in the face of this Soul Society, and also make the most advanced IS ever conceived, say aye!" In one breath, Tabane blurted this out, wanting to get to work on the most fun project she may ever be a part of.

"Aye!" Kisuke merrily shouts.

"You are all crazy." Chifuyu said as she rubs her nose. "But yes, aye."

"This is gonna be great!"


End file.
